Monday

Sep 9, 2019 at 7:00 AM

Via Vecchia Winery is raising a toast to its new location in south Columbus.

The winery is settling into an old, 6,000-square-foot warehouse at 2108 S. High St. that is part of the Fort, a cluster of office spaces for large-scale manufacturing and small, creative studios. It previously was on Front Street in Columbus' Brewery District.

"This is a big move," said Michael Elmer, who co-founded Via Vecchia with Paolo Rosi. "I like to say we're all in."

Hours are 2:30 to 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, unless a private event is planned.

The winery has a full liquor license, and all of its house-crafted wines -- six reds and one white, plus a sangria -- are available by the glass and bottle.

The building has been painted Prussian blue. The two-level interior, which seats 250, is flooded with natural light.

Elmer said one significant advantage to the space is a 14,000-square-foot courtyard.

The wine is made in a warehouse across the parking lot in the Fort, but production will move to the Topper Supply Co. building sometime after the first of the year, creating more visibility along South High Street, Elmer said.

Stand-up comedy events are planned through Dec. 28. A permanent open night for the public at the event space remains undetermined, Elmer said.

"I think we just want to get a grasp of the area and a grasp for the building itself until we decide what kind of public hours we'll have," he said.

No food is prepared on-site; caterers are responsible for culinary services at the winery, Elmer said.

Via Vecchia was founded in 2006 in the basement of Rosi's Powell home.

The business partners moved it to the Brewery District in 2009. But construction in the area was creating a fresh layer of dust in the event space, and the owners learned they would be losing some of their parking spaces, so it closed in January in anticipation of the move.

"We were kind of outgrowing that space, too," Elmer said. "If we had it today, we probably would have a second venue."

Via Vecchia makes all of its natural, or raw, wines from fresh, organic grapes -- not juice -- from Lodi, California, and Chile.

The winery participated in Isabelle Legeron's Raw Wine Fair in London in 2015 and 2016, the inaugural American fair in 2016 in Brooklyn, New York, and the inaugural Los Angeles fair in 2016, according to viavecchiawinery.com.

Justin McAllister, the owner of Fortner Upholstering and the visionary of the Fort, said he thought Via Vecchia would be a good fit in the complex.

"The event space -- there's so much demand for that," McAllister said.

Shake Shack's brand of "roadside" burgers started sizzling Sept. 4 on the ground level of the Graduate Columbus hotel, 740 N. High St. in Columbus' Short North.

Shake Shack, which made its local debut in May at Easton Town Center, also is known for its chicken sandwiches, griddled flat-top dogs, frozen custard and crispy crinkle-cut fries.

In addition to those classics, the restaurant will serve three distinct frozen-custard "concretes," or shakes: Berry Blender, Brownie Points and Pie Oh My, the latter two using local baked goods from Fox in the Snow Cafe.